STATEWIDE–More than 400,000 Hoosiers are unemployed, but now some of them are being told they have to pay back some of their unemployment benefits.
The Indiana Department of Workforce Development says some people got too much money in one or more of their recent unemployment payments, so the state wants that money back.
That happened to Lisa Cozzolino, a hairstylist for over 20 years.
“Frustration is probably the biggest emotion that I was feeling,” said Cozzolino to WISH-TV. “I got an email saying they had overpaid me $480, and that I was to pay that back. The only way to pay it back was to go through this website, and that I was going to incur a fee for paying it back.”
The unemployment money gave her some breathing room while the state was under the stay-at-home order.
“I felt they had yanked the rug out. Here it was, finally, I was able to pay my bills,” said Cozzolino. She still owes the state hundreds of dollars.
The Department of Workforce Development is offering anyone who’s gotten a bill for an overpayment the option to either make a payment plan, or take less money going forward. DWD is not saying how many people in Indiana were overpaid.
If this is a problem for you, you can call the Department of Workforce Development Benefit Call Center at (800) 891-6499 or 317-232-7560 (TDD). The call center hours are from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. weekdays.
The Department of Workforce Development website says to talk to someone about a repayment agreement, you can call 317-233-4838 or 317-233-4839.
